Customer relationship management involves the communication of manufacturers or retailers with end users after products have been sold. Such communication is often necessary to ensure customer satisfaction as well as to convey important information such as recall notices. In the automotive setting, for example, car dealers keep track of automobile purchases using mailing lists. Such mailing lists are typically used to send customer satisfaction, alert the customers to new models, and to send advertisements and coupons for automobile service. Further, the mailing lists collected by car dealers are used by car manufactures to send recall notice. However, these lists often are not updated when cars are sold.
In 2003, there were 598 recalls affecting some 30 million cars in the United States, but fewer than half the car owners ultimately find out about such recalls or bring their cars in to get them repaired. To address this problem, state legislators in California are considering putting such recall notices on the vehicle registration forms in order to improve the odds that people will find out about a recall and have their cars fixed free of charge. For example, in California, legislation is being considered to require car manufacturers to provide the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) with a list of the vehicles subject to a recall within 90 days and require the DMV to notify car owners about the recall on their annual vehicle registration renewal notice. Current California law already requires car manufacturers to provide this information to the DMV in cases of emissions-related recalls. Car owners affected by those types of recalls are notified on their annual vehicle registration renewal notice from the DMV and can't re-register their car until the defect is repaired.
It has been reported that a lot of car owners don't find out when their car is recalled either because they've moved, they think the notice from a dealer is junk mail, or they aren't the original owner of the car so the recall notice sent out by the manufacturer never gets to them.
Since 1966, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has been responsible for motor vehicle safety in the United States. Once NHTSA orders a recall, manufacturers must contact owners by mail and include details of the safety defect, how the owner can get the car repaired at no cost, and who the owner can contact if they're having trouble getting the repair work done. According to the NHTSA, a record 30.4 million vehicles were recalled in 2004, 61% more than were recalled in 2003.
While the legislation being introduced at the state level in the United States is a step in the right direction, such procedures are still inadequate. For example, consider the case in which a defect that affects the safety of vehicle is discovered. Under the proposed California legislation, some people will not discover this defect until they receive their annual car registration form. Such a delay in notification could result in many accidents and fatalities when the defect is life threatening. Thus, given the above background, what is needed in the art are improved methods for communicating customer relationship management data to end users.